The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
julia1205's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Biphobia, Rape, Suicide, Sexual assault, Murder, Infidelity, Death, and Body horror
bookishwondergoth's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Listen, I hate to be dragging down this authorâs Goodreads rating any further than it already is. It seems like the majority of 1 star reviews on here are review bombs without having read the book. I, on the other hand, have read the book, and there was so much wrong with it I donât really know where to start.
1) Suspension of disbelief. There were so many instances where I was required, as a reader, to simply accept that something ridiculous had happened. Protagonist Leto makes a series of increasingly nonsensical decisions and then is never questioned or suspected by anyone around her. How did 2 women with no sailing experience crew a Grecian boat to Ithaca without raising eyebrows? How can a small city manage to sacrifice 12 girls every year for centuries without having significant impact on that townâs population?
2) Poorly researched. Apparently this book is set in Ancient Greece, but only the occasional name of an item of clothing or references to the Greek Gods and Odysseus tells you this.
3) Poorly executed. Why does one of the characters fall in love with the person who killed them? Why does everyone fall in love so quickly? All these things needed far more nuance and greater explanation.
4) Pacing. All over the place. The opening and ending are the best parts of this book. Everything else is a meandering, boring mess.
5) Cheating bisexual trope. This book is marketed as a sapphic book, but one of the characters is bi and in a love triangle with a man who she doesnât tell her girlfriend about. I hate it here. I gave her the benefit of the doubt when it was all just still flirting, but nope, things didnât stop there. This trope needs to die or at the very least directly addressed if youâre going to keep it in.
The beginning of the book was brutal and I really liked how things were resolved at the end of the book. I will at least give the book credit there where itâs due.
Overall, not the book for me. I read it as part of the Illumicrate March readalong and finished it only because I was enjoying the lively discussion so much. If you like juvenilely-written stories loosely inspired by Greek myths and packed full of YA tropes like love triangles, angry girls and rash choices, this is the book for you.
1) Suspension of disbelief. There were so many instances where I was required, as a reader, to simply accept that something ridiculous had happened. Protagonist Leto makes a series of increasingly nonsensical decisions and then is never questioned or suspected by anyone around her. How did 2 women with no sailing experience crew a Grecian boat to Ithaca without raising eyebrows? How can a small city manage to sacrifice 12 girls every year for centuries without having significant impact on that townâs population?
2) Poorly researched. Apparently this book is set in Ancient Greece, but only the occasional name of an item of clothing or references to the Greek Gods and Odysseus tells you this.
3) Poorly executed. Why does one of the characters fall in love with the person who killed them? Why does everyone fall in love so quickly? All these things needed far more nuance and greater explanation.
4) Pacing. All over the place. The opening and ending are the best parts of this book. Everything else is a meandering, boring mess.
5) Cheating bisexual trope. This book is marketed as a sapphic book, but one of the characters is bi and in a love triangle with a man who she doesnât tell her girlfriend about. I hate it here. I gave her the benefit of the doubt when it was all just still flirting, but nope, things didnât stop there. This trope needs to die or at the very least directly addressed if youâre going to keep it in.
The beginning of the book was brutal and I really liked how things were resolved at the end of the book. I will at least give the book credit there where itâs due.
Overall, not the book for me. I read it as part of the Illumicrate March readalong and finished it only because I was enjoying the lively discussion so much. If you like juvenilely-written stories loosely inspired by Greek myths and packed full of YA tropes like love triangles, angry girls and rash choices, this is the book for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Violence, and Biphobia
Moderate: Rape, Body horror, and Sexual assault
gondorgirl's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Minor: Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Sexual violence, Blood, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism
belleanndthebook's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.0
This book was ultimately not for me. Although there were many references to Greek myths and Rick Riordanâs writing, this book was not written in the style of either of those things. The pacing was much slower, the action was sprinkled in rather than a main focus, and there were no big plot twists. The story was very slow paced and character driven, in a way that reminded me of Six of Crows based on how much time was spent getting to know the characters.Â
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Ultimately, I would recommend this to people who are looking to read a very slow, atmospheric, wet, dark, and character driven YA Greek tragedy.Â
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror
hanne_'s review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Gods, what a slog. Had one early moment with properly horrific use of familiar imagery (the feet, what else?), and then⌠kinda fell apart. This couldâve been sweet and lush, but tried to do too much with too little and was narratively all over the place. Itâs a reimagining of how the Odysâ okay, itâs not really doing that rigorously but itâs an intensely personal exploration ofâ nope, itâs one of those âmonarchic inheritance acts like a reality show competitionâ booksâ but donât worry, this YA love triangleâs *bisexual* and even drifting toward polyamâ oh wait, now weâre doing the senselessly tragic nature of capital-F Fateâ whoops, have two sudden twists⌠and itâs over. Exhausting.Â
I think the author needed to pick one or two things to really commit to: the worldbuilding as an extension of The Odyssey, the consistency of the magic and plot elements she wanted to include, Leto and Melanthoâs first-person voices (which started out refreshing and distinct but soon blended together), the three protagonistsâ relationships, or the political/governing elements. Instead, the story rushes past each in turn in service of the others, and the only reliably well-developed element is actually⌠the violence? If you for some reason want to read a lot of detail about people, mostly children, being disturbingly murdered and assaulted, this is the book for you.Â
I think the author needed to pick one or two things to really commit to: the worldbuilding as an extension of The Odyssey, the consistency of the magic and plot elements she wanted to include, Leto and Melanthoâs first-person voices (which started out refreshing and distinct but soon blended together), the three protagonistsâ relationships, or the political/governing elements. Instead, the story rushes past each in turn in service of the others, and the only reliably well-developed element is actually⌠the violence? If you for some reason want to read a lot of detail about people, mostly children, being disturbingly murdered and assaulted, this is the book for you.Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Gore, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual violence, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Minor: Abandonment, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Animal death, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide, Bullying, Classism, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
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